


In celebration of the love we get, of the people we meet and the things we learn

by kobattsun



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Slice of Life, happy bday torao, just zool trying to bond, someone save touma thank u, they are so soft even if they are so stupid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-18 05:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18114008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kobattsun/pseuds/kobattsun
Summary: If he manages to keep this group together, maybe they’ll really be able to celebrate all of their birthdays together, and not just once. If he manages to keep this group together, maybe celebrating birthdays together will become a habit and maybe next time they’ll have even more food and gifts.Zool Week, day 6: Torao's bday





	In celebration of the love we get, of the people we meet and the things we learn

**Author's Note:**

> ok, i, actually don't even know if this is good,,, and i'm so nervous because i'm not even sure if they are ic and because,,, the rabitv of torao's bday is so good and,,, damn it
> 
> but i also love my son very much and i'm so happy to see people starting to appreciate zool more and hhhhhhhhh  
> as always, thank you @nishanightray, such a super cool beta reader and my hero

 

 

Inumaru Touma doesn't think he is a particularly complicated person.

Although he is aware of his flaws, he's quite sure it's safe to say he is a simple one. He may be stubborn, often impulsive, but he is straightforward, generally honest: if he wants something, he clearly says so.

If it was for Touma, things would be much simpler.

If it was his birthday, for example, he would just ask them, _Guys, wanna hang out and get something to eat together to celebrate?_

He wouldn't expect gifts, knowing the others, but nobody ever said that they’re obliged to worry about that, it would be just a whim on his part, to demand one... Honestly, for him, even just spending time together, like real comrades do, would be cool enough.

It’s perhaps because Touma is too straightforward that fate assigned him the three most dishonest comrades he could imagine.

Midou Torao, for example, is the perfect example of how looks can be deceiving; since he's so tall, apparently mature and adult, perhaps, you certainly wouldn't expect him to need as much attention as a kindergartener.

"It's like the hundredth time you say it, damn it!"

Haruka suddenly snaps, nibbling at the lollypop he's been eating.

"Actually, it's only the thirty-fourth," Minami corrects him nonchalantly, flipping through a script. Touma wonders if he really spent the last two weeks counting how many times their partner casually remarked that it would be his birthday soon.

Torao backs away on his chair, crossing his arms with a blatant, ill-concealed pout. "I was just being kind, in case you wanted to come to the party."

_I don't fucking care about your parties_ and _I'm not interested, but thanks_ are the only answers he gets, so the pout on his face accentuates even more. If he doesn’t know him well enough, Touma would think he was actually just awkwardly trying to invite them to his birthday - or maybe it's because he's starting to know them for real that he can think like that.

He watches them for a little, in silence, then sighs, exhausted. "Hey, I was thinking..." He says, unsure about how to continue. "Why don't we go to eat something together to celebrate?"

They stop moving – Torao, in particular, looks interested, vigilant, like a dog anxiously waiting for its owner to throw him the ball.

"To celebrate what?"

"Tora's birthday."

"Uhm."

"Inumaru-san, are you sure it's appropriate? This is the kind of thing friends do and we are not friends, as far as I know."

Minami is right: they are not friends, there is no reason why they should feel obliged to do something like this or try to spend time together - Torao himself often refused his invitations before, without any problem or tact whatsoever.

But then Touma makes eye contact with Torao, who immediately diverts his gaze, and wonders if being too condescending can be considered a curse.

"Well, yes... but we're still colleagues.” Then, he adds, "Teammates."

Haruka puts his console on his knees, annoyed. "Not all teammates spend birthday together."

"That's true," Minami comments, amused. Touma is about to surrender at the idea that it was a lost cause from the start, when the boy continues, "But what a pity it it... Inumaru-san and you could have celebrated birthdays together, since the dates are so close to each other." He wouldn't know whether Mina is just making fun of them or he gave up in front of Torao’s pouting expression, too.

Haruka becomes more interested, presses his lips together and settles on the couch. "Well, no. If we celebrate his birthday, then we have to celebrate them all, right? It would be unfair to buy the cake just for him."

"Oh, of course, of course."

Actually, he doesn't think he'll ever understand what's going on in Mina's mind.

"However, Inumaru-san, isn't it too late now? You know, we could even be seen," Natsume says, without looking up from the script, and Touma reflects on how good his focus skills must be to allow him to work without getting distracted.

"Well, then you can come to my house. What do you think?"

"...your house, Inumaru-san?" Minami asks, turning his attention to him with an unnervingly sly expression.

"What's wrong with that!? It's clean, okay? I keep it tidy!"

He is already reconsidering – because why must he be always the one to make the first step and then be teased about it!? – when he's interrupted by Torao's voice.

"Okay," he says in a small, neutral voice, his attention directed elsewhere, seemingly disinterested; to be honest, though, Touma is sure his eyes are shining. "I can postpone the party if you care so much."

 

 

 

 

If it was for Touma, things would be much simpler, but fate assigned him the three most dishonest comrades he could imagine – and, despite all, that's okay.

Even if they constantly complain and never seem to listen, he can't really get angry – ah, but, as soon as he thinks that, Haruka scolds him for not having anything edible at home, forcing them to go shopping to the nearby konbini.

"So you know how to cook?" Torao asks with a mild curiosity. Just by looking at him, Touma realizes there is no malice in his words: he is studying the pack of frozen food between his hands with genuine interest, like a child that watches his mother doing errands.

"Not everyone can afford personal cooks, you know?"

"Look, it's not real cooking if it's packaged food," Haruka says while holding at least a dozen of packs of Pocky in his arms, and Touma mumbles an indignant, _I can really cook, okay!?_

Minami sighs in exasperation, telling their younger center to put the sweets back, because they are definitely too much for his health. Meanwhile, Torao still looks thoughtful.

"...can you really cook?"

"Yes, I mean... I'm not a great chef, but I can do enough to take care of myself.”  Then he continues, joking, "Unfortunately I don’t have a cooking certificate, sorry, and surely not the money for a lobster."

The other doesn't answer immediately and, for a moment, Touma thinks he hasn't heard him at all. “Hmm, poor people sure are weird," Torao finally says. Really, Touma would like to punch him. But then Torao asks, out of nowhere, “Do you know how to make udon?"

Touma sighs, resigned to having to live with the strange beliefs this rich boy grew up with for all the duration of the evening.

Once he's at the cash desk, ready to pay, Haruka, who put back eleven of the twelve packs of Pocky, places a packaged cake in the basket: it's a simple one, one of those with cream and strawberries on top that you’d put in the fridge and that Touma would never buy for himself.

Their youngest member shrugs slightly, his lips tight and the nose crinkled as he tries to avoid his gaze. "W-Why the hell are you staring!?" He asks, defensive. "A birthday must be celebrated with a cake, otherwise it's not a real birthday at all. Everyone knows that."

Touma is not sure if he is just saying that because he’s a glutton or if he has any real interest for their teammate. However, as he notices the two packets of candles in the cart, he wants to believe it's for both reasons.

 

 

 

 

What Touma learns from this whole story is that he shouldn't ever leave his comrades alone and without supervision during shopping - especially when he offered to pay - because none of them seems to have any idea of how the social rules that allow you to coexist with others work.

For example, he's sure that buying all that food for free is a crime at least morally punishable.

However, what Touma also learns is that Haruka can be a responsible child who sets the table once he arrives at home, that his eyes sparkles a lot when he finally manages to complete a combo in a game and that every time he forgets to take a screenshot of it. Touma discovers that Minami ties up his hair when he cooks, that he tends to taste the food many times more than he should and that, when he’s annoyed at someone – _Oi, Mina! Did you really get this angry? Do you know how many_ tamagoyaki _you ate already?!_ – , he asks Torao to draw their faces on the _senbei_.  Torao seems to love drawing cute animals, and Touma learns of this too.

After all, he doesn't even mind cooking the _udon_ on his own, if he can listen to them talking on the other side of the table in the meantime.

And it’s not talk about revenge, or plans to harm anyone: in this moment, they are only three boys of their age who talk about stupid and random things while waiting for dinner, as if they’re able to put aside all the unpleasant things and be just themselves, for once.

"Here, eat."

Torao – when did he get up? – hands him a cracker, pressing it against his cheek, and Touma would like to point out that maybe it's not the most appropriate moment, but the other’s expression stops him. He doesn't know whether the sight of Torao being so genuinely satisfied with his own drawing on a cracker should be considered embarrassing or adorable.

"Ah... What is it?"

"What do you mean, _what_? It's clearly a dog."

"Oh... Right, sorry. Clearly a dog."

In any case, he can't refuse his offer, perhaps because right now Touma thinks he deserves to be spoiled a little, too – perhaps because he is a weak person who wouldn't be able to reject their requests even if he wanted to.

Meanwhile, at the table, Minami is silently watching their other center playing a game, probably engaged in some difficult match judging by his angry expression and the amount of _senbei_ stuffed in his mouth  (who knows how many he already ate... ), that he can’t even be bothered to chew.

"At least try not to ruin your appetite...” Touma whispers, exasperated, and gets only a few grumbles in response.

However, Touma can say he's satisfied, because not even one bite is left of the dinner he prepared and, when Minami takes the cake out from the fridge, he hardly holds back laughers as he notices Haruka suddenly sitting up straight – it’s hard not to imagine him wagging like a puppy in front of a cookie jar.

Touma is sure the cake they bought for Torao is really tiny compared to those he is used to, and certainly not comparable to one a chef could have made especially for him, yet Torao's eyes shine so brightly, only lit by the dim light of the candles in the dark room – and his smile doesn't go off even when the candles do.

None of them sings him the birthday song, obviously, but all of them wish him a happy birthday, more or less loudly.

Minami’s got a kind expression – like, sincerely kind!? – as he tells them to pull back because it's difficult to cut the slices that way, while Haruka leans toward the cake slightly more than necessary, pressing his lips together and mumbling that, for his birthday, there will have to be even more strawberries on the top.

There’s that strong smell of hot wax that permeates everything and, maybe, it's because the light is dim and there is a pleasant warmth in the house that Touma feels in the mood to be sentimental.

If he manages to keep this group together, maybe they’ll really be able to celebrate all of their birthdays together, and not just once. If he manages to keep this group together, maybe celebrating birthdays together will become a habit and maybe next time they’ll have even more food and gifts.

If he tries hard enough to be able to see smiles like that on their faces more often, then he’s got nothing to regret.

Suddenly, all the money spent in that _konbini_ don't bother him anymore.

 

 

 

 

The truth is that of all the things he could have expected from Midou, Touma didn’t expect his apparent, ill-concealed passion for superheroes in the least

To be honest, thinking about it, he's not even sure Torao really tried to hide it, given the fake nonchalance with which he persuaded them to watch those old DVDs found in a drawer, or his barely suppressed reactions as they watched them.

Their marathon ended in the middle of the third movie, with Torao and Haruka asleep on the couch, leaning on each other, the TV still on – Touma isn't sure how they can sleep despite the noise in the first place.

"Do you need help?"

When he feels a damp cloth touching his neck, Touma almost drops the dish he’s been washing in the sink.

"M-Mina--! Damn it!"

The boy chuckles, tying up his hair and rolling up his sleeves. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he says, but from his tone he doesn't seem sorry at all.

They stay in silence for a bit, only the water's rustling in the background. Touma doesn't have the strength to start a conversation.

Then Natsume murmurs something in a really low voice, almost like if he doesn't particularly care if he can actually be heard or not.

"I have never attended a birthday like that before."

"Hm? Really? Is it weird? Ah, but maybe celebrities do it differently...?"

His comment isn’t meant to be sarcastic, but as he says it he realizes that maybe he hit a sore spot – the fact that Minami doesn't answer at first certainly doesn't reassure him at all.

"My birthday is June 8th," he simply remarks, without any warning, and Touma has to stop for a moment, too tired to wash and try to understand what Mina’s really plotting at the same time, yet he finds no danger in his words.

He turns to Minami and finds him looking down, only paying attention to the stoves. If Touma wasn’t sure he heard him well, he might have thought that he had imagined it, that it had been a hallucination caused by fatigue.

But then he thinks about the blanket resting on Torao and Haruka in the living room, about the drawings made on the _senbei_ they ate together, about the candles on the cake.

If he manages to keep this group together, maybe celebrating birthdays together will become a habit.

"Inumaru-san, the water is still running."

"...oh, you're right."

Perhaps, the truth is that he’s not the only one who's trying to get all of that.

"...oi, Mina."

"What?"

"It will be the best birthday you have ever had."

It's definitely a price he can pay, if it'll let him see them smile more often.

"Then, it's a promise, Inumaru-san."

Inumaru Touma always keeps his promises.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i love them i love them i love them please bamco let my sons be happy


End file.
